By Iddi Yire
Accra, Jan 25, GNA – Mr King A. Wellington, the Founder of DONE BY US, a management consultancy and investment firm, says the inauguration of the Africa Street MBA will go a long way to empower young entrepreneurs in Ghana.
The objective of Africa Street MBA is to provide an integrated, regional support for start-ups and small businesses, focusing on the provision of business development services and funding for young entrepreneurs in Ghana.
Speaking at the launch of the Africa Street MBA in Accra, Mr Wellington said the programme seeks to impact young people with world-class business knowledge based on top MBA curriculum and entrepreneurial course content.
He said the target audience for the programme was the marginalised group with innovative business ideas or already established businesses.
Mr Wellington said the Africa Street MBA was a continuous project, which would welcome new cohorts every year.
He said in addition, a series of events would be organized nationwide throughout the year and resources made accessible through the Africa Street MBA online channels and online hub.
“We have gathered here to officially embark on a transformative but yet difficult journey; a journey that when travelled well will develop and strengthen the skills, instincts, abilities, processes, and resources of about 10,000 young entrepreneurs and start-up businesses annually in Ghana thereby enabling these young entrepreneurs and start-up businesses to survive, adapt, and thrive in a fast-changing world,” he said.
“Again, this journey that we are about to embark on, will help to reduce the high start-up failure rate in the country and by extension the Africa continent; it will make practical business knowledge accessible to all; connect young entrepreneurs to captains of industries and give them access to information, markets, funding and many more.”
He said the journey would also provide a platform for deprived young people – from poor backgrounds and low education – but with bright ideas and existing businesses to also benefit from a world-class business development programme.
“Most often, a young lady from the street of Tatale Sanguli or a young gentleman from the street of Awutu/Senya Breku do not get the opportunity to benefit from business development programmes and build world-class businesses,” Mr Wellington said. “It is for this reason that the Africa Street MBA was developed.”
He said Africa Street MBA had been designed to bridge the business knowledge gap and help young people from poor backgrounds, and young people with low education to also have the opportunity to build a world-class enterprise.
“We are therefore taking business knowledge from the formal sector into the informal sector; from the corporate world into the street, so many more young entrepreneurs in Ghana and Africa would be empowered to become global giants.”
Mr Wellington encouraged everyone, especially corporate entities, to support the Africa Street MBA to achieve its objectives.
Nii Ankonu Annorbah-Sarpei, Programmes Manager, KGL Foundation, said youth development and empowerment were vital to the attainment of national, sustainable and individual development.
He said KGL Foundation encouraged young people to channel their energies into constructive activities rather than in social vices.
Madam Samira Hussein, an Assistant Business Advisor, Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), said the Agency with the support of the Government and other stakeholders, would continue to strengthen Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and ensure improved access to credit facilities to expand their operations and grow to contribute greatly to economic growth.
She said GEA would continue to play its role to ensure that MSMEs had skilled manpower and good managerial skills to enhance performance of the Sector through efficient and effective utilization of the resources available to them.
GNA